Stormwater – 3 tips for your home

Stormwater at your home will usually go unnoticed until the heavens open up. In Adelaide we are quite lucky not to suffer the same torrential downpours of some cities. But don’t think we are safe from the rain. As we know, weather these days is becoming more and more unpredictable. The last week in Adelaide has given scorching hot days followed by unpredicted rainfall. So although it is the middle of summer, its better to be safe than sorry.

So we’ve put together 3 stormwater tips that you can implement at home.

Choose the right pipe

Majority of builders when constructing a new home will give little attention the stormwater. Although it is perfectly legal, they will often install stormwater grade pipe underground. As plumbers, we do not recommend such practices. Stormwater grade pipe is for the lack of a better word weaker and more susceptible to breaks. It is fine to use for downpipes, but when put underground it can cause serious problems in your home. When the ground moves, pipes can crack, leading tree roots to intrude and take over. If you opt to get your stormwater pipes cleaned using the hydro jet drain machine, the jet can easily break more holes in your pipework due to the brittleness of the stormwater grade pipe. So if you are building a new house or renovating, ask your builder or plumber to install 100mm DWV pipe for your underground stormwater needs. The initial price is higher for DWV, but you’ll thank us in the long run.

The more inspection openings the better.

Another form of cost cutting is not placing inspection openings on downpipes. This becomes a major inconvenience when downpipes become blocked. To avoid climbing up onto the roof when the downpours begin, ask your plumber or builder for IP’s on the downpipes.

Stay on top of preventative maintenance.

To avoid unwanted issues from heavy downpours, conduct a monthly check up, especially during autumn winter. This includes removing debris from any grates and sumps as well as cleaning gutters.

We hope this has been useful, there are many more tips to harness your stormwater, but that is another blog for another day!